lady-isobel-barnett

Next we'll be getting called The Unpredictables MerryHell's spot on. What I find tho' a bit alarming is that other posters who know that following the Jags is a roller coaster ride are so despondent re the playing side of things. I really feel that the real worry and despondency should be concerning matters off the pitch. Perhaps we're all a bit guilty of muddlin' up our mediocrities. One is tolerable, following the Jags the roller coaster thingy is kinda the norm in any case. The other tho' is just unacceptable.

I won't quote the figures bandied about at the time as in no way have they ever been established but I believe the following will be true... 1/Campbell & Bone collectively were on a considerably higher remuneration than McCall & Spiers/Britton or as today McCall & Maxwell. 2/Campbell's playing budget was significantly higher than McCall's has ever been. Now if you can accept above then what happens if/when McCall leaves? 1/Will the next manager/assistant be on the same wages? I guess we know the answer to that. 2/Will the next manager have the same or increased player budget? Once again the answer to that I fear is fairly obvious. So those who believe that getting rid of IMcC (or more correctly if McCall was to leave under his own volition) would create some sort of Jags renaissance might be stretching their imagination somewhat. I'm not saying that there isn't another manager out there who would accept a lower wage and couldn't do as good a job as McCall. I'm not even saying that another manager couldn't do as well on even a tighter budget. The law of averages dictates that somewhere there'll be someone that could fit either of those potential requirements. What I am getting at is that finding experienced managers who would accept less remuneration for themselves and their assistant and accept a reduced playing budget will be very few and far between. I've not even approached the probabilities of our existing Board being competent enough to select an appropriate manager regardless of his pay and his budget. Best not even contemplate that. I really feel no matter what we're witnessing on the pitch when it comes to the present manager it's bite the bullet time.

Kinda my sentiments as well. I think the only thing the game's got going for it is we've not played Falkirk in a long while. Obviously we've got another four fixtures to come and it'll get tedious soon enough, but at least tomorrow it's fresh opponents. Sorry, that's the best I can do I can't remember such low key build up and general low interest in a game that's been validly pointed out to be of considerable significance.

You're no doubt right but just out of curiosity why have you quoted my post?

This is always assuming Levein doesn't call four or five of our lads up for international duty.

Did I dream I once saw Grant Murray score a penalty against Falkirk? Of that line up I'd have Boab in for Maxwell at centre back and he'd be without any doubt our captain.

A lot of the time I'm a wee bit confused. A wee bit of the time I'm a lot confused. I guess this is a case of the latter. Can someone please explain what this thread's all about?

Sorry, kni, you'll have to back that up with more than that. By definition that's really a slight on our lapsed fanbase. Jags fans may be fickle but not that fickle. I would suggest our lack of attendances between 3000 & 5000 is down to a lot more complex issues than anything Messrs Campbell & McCall have inflicted on us.

I tend to agree slightly with Argus on this. I certainly don't go along with the collective idea that a team's not trying. Individuals, that's a different matter, but even then maybe a guy often pulls out a tackle one time then busts a gut for the rest of the game. Like it or not if a player is busting the gut and still not getting anywhere he's termed a headless chicken often by the same folk. For those that say the team weren't trying yesterday maybe you could give some loose specifics. Same tho' goes for any saying they were busting a gut. I'd love to think that our abject failure yesterday was down to lack of heart. Somehow I just don't feel that lack of heart and effort were the main culprits. I do tho' question the lack of inspiration from our senior players. Rowson, Robbo & Donnelly are all professionals and all go quietly about their business in an admirable fashion. What I feel is lacking from them, and I should add Archie to the list, is that extra drive necessary for proper captaincy. No answers sadly as I can't suggest a prospective candidate. This time last season I'd be suggesting Cairney might have fitted the bill by now but he's no longer even an automatic first team choice. Really feel it's this captaincy issue that's letting us down more than any team wide lack of effort.

I suppose his loan spell at Clyde was the equivalent when he got a run of about 9 or 10 games. Reports from Broadwood were generally in praise of his work rate, the runs he made and all round effort but he didn't score and missed sitters. That was a division below. Whether he'd be more effective in Div 1, where in theory he'd be playing alongside more accomplished players (ha!), is open to debate. I agree he usually looks sharp enough and might be worth a run. He is after all getting kept out the side by other non scorers.

I wouldn't confuse overall attendance with size of home support. We'll suffer from lack of away support more than most clubs (see my post somewhere else re all those derby games). Put simply most away supporters will cherrypick their games. More likely to initially at least go to the matches with local rivalry than bother coming to Firhill. Our home support maybe averages out at 2000-2300(?) for league games. At a guess that'll be the 4th best home support in the division. So MWM is kinda correct in what he's saying. Just on a slightly different matter I'm not sure I'd want our Club to be the same model of any of the three better supported. Dundee (totally dependent on one guy who doesn't even support the club), Falkirk (well enough run but a cost to their fans re that soulless out of the way ground) and Dunfermline (how many million in debt is it?). I feel it's one thing to say we've been run shabbily under our present stewardship, another thing entirely to look elsewhere in our league for a suitable role model we should've adopted.

I don't know how anyone can suggest we've a rightful place in the SPL when since its inception we've only spent two seasons in that league, one of which was of course in 12th position getting relegated. SPL aside, I think it's a very long time since we could say that over for an example a ten year spell we were more regularly than not a top eleven club. But Cowan talking up our status to sell season tickets is both the least of his faults and the least of our worries. If our chairman happens to be deluded into believing we are still a traditional top 11 club sobeit. Again it's not his greatest failing by some distance.

Sorry can't agree with that and in a way you sort of contradict yourself with your very last sentence, which would hold the midfield to blame. The defence is prone to errors and suffers from immobility but the major fault lies in our not scoring. Whether that's down to lack of service from midfield or blatantly poor finishing is another matter. Btw I put it down to both. The number of 0-1 defeats surely suggests that the major problem lies in attack? Yesterday, if you can accept the 2nd goal was freakish and may not have crossed the line in any case, was typical fare. Powder puff finishing, missed target attempt from Liam, no balls in from wide positions and no positive midfield service was all too familiar. As to have we ever had such a pathetic forward line? Yes, and sadly all too often. Howzabout Ramon, Hinds & One for starters?

This is true to a degree. It does show that there are fans out there. Whether any upturn in the crowds in Div 1 can be put down to the quality of the product or the inordinate amount of derby games is another matter. If it's the latter then attendances are possibly unsustainable. This season Raith, Pars, Cowdenbeath & Falkirk will all play a minimum of 9 derby matches. Dunfermline will play at least 12, every third league game a derby! There's a very good chance some of those matches later on the season will have a bearing on the outcome of the league at both ends so decent crowds could be expected. But say Ross Co or Dundee run away with the league what sort of fan interest will there be in a Dunfermline v Raith game when they're playing their 11th & 9th derby game? There's much the SFL could be doing to avoid this overkill situation, primarily larger leagues where we only play each twice a season and restricting the Challenge Cup to the lower leagues.

No idea, but you could hardly accuse him of that today. I don't actually recall him running . Tbh I thought there was little need for the substitutions at half time. The first half was a team failure. The change of formation and the two changes were nothing more than cosmetic. The only alteration required was a change of attitude and that to their shame never happened.

Clearly a big difference between the two types of players we've had from the ugly sisters. Firstly there's the Divers & Ritchie washed up type and then there's the young ones who've never or hardly ever played for a Celgers first team. As for the latter lot we've not exactly been done proud of late with players we've signed or got on loan from the OF, probably going back to just after Gerry B first signed. Strangely tho' and I can't really think of a lot of examples but I'm sure there are, we've done not bad out of players who started life with one or other of the ugly sisters and arrived at Firhill later in their careers.

Only scored 5 goals in three games against Div 3 opposition. Just one goal in two games in the league. Will that do?

Something called My Club in the Jim Spencey Spence programme Beyond the SPL. Sadly doesn't appear to feature in the BBC iPlayer tho' the programme does. Must have been edited out .

They'd cut both off to make him a two wrist attraction. Where did I leave that coat?

I agree about the soulless grounds, add McDiarmid, Forthbank & ICT onto the list, but that doesn't excuse Morton treating away fans like shit. I could tolerate that place if they were perennially skint (clearly not the case given Rae's spending) and treated their own fans as shabbily.

Good to know that the goal end will be open and I'd like to thank our Club for posting that info early on the official site . Agree entirely with above sentiments. As for Morton I can't think of another club in Scotland, even including Dundee & ICT, that least deserve the patronage of an away support.

That's surely a bit blinkered. In return for every Jean Yves Anis in recent seasons that's been thru Chelsea's books we've had a Kevin McKinlay and an Andy Ross

Answering my own question here but Jackie played 45mins and appears to have come thru the game OK

Was going to say something similar but didn't realise it was Weatherson in particular. I'm sure we'll go 3-5-2 again and, as we're hardly likely to play three rightsided centrebacks, Maxwell will keep his place. I'd like to see MacBeth make the bench but unsure who would drop out.

I thought the whole/main idea of this bounce game was to give McNamara a run out?